Vietnam coach recalls player after World Cup qualification mistakes

By Nghia Phu November 4, 2021 | 01:15 am PT

Nguyen Thanh Binh (white jersey) during the World Cup qualifiers between China and Vietnam on October 8, 2021. Photo by AFP

Defender Nguyen Thanh Binh has returned to the national team for their World Cup qualification campaign after the U23 Asian Cup qualifiers ended.

Binh is one of eight players called up to the national team after recently featuring in U23 Asian Cup qualifiers.

In the World Cup qualifying match with China on Oct. 8, Binh played as a substitute in the second half, but made two mistakes that caused Vietnam to concede two goals. After the game, Park moved Binh to the U23s and excluded him from the match with Oman.

During U23 Asian Cup qualifiers, Binh started in both games. He performed well and helped Vietnam keep a clean sheet against Taiwan and Myanmar to top group I and qualify for U23 Asian Cup 2022.

The national team will play the next World Cup qualifiers with Japan on Nov. 11 and Saudi Arabia five days later. Vietnam are last in group B, after losing their first four matches.